Sherman
Sherman= The Sherman M4 is the pride of the United Republic, and is also the most widely deployed tank in the western world. The tank is named after the American Civil War general, William Sherman, who famously bypassed Confederate armies and forts while living off the land to drive deep into the South. The Sherman was first developed some time during the European war as the High Command of United Republic forces saw the extensive use of tanks in Europe and realized reliable, numerous tanks were needed to maintain a mobile, deep-striking force. The Sherman tank is the mainstay of most Federal armored divisions and is regarded as a solid vehicle with great flexibility in terms of deployment. Although not particularly well armed or armored, the Sherman was designed and built with reliability and versatility in mind. Its armament, a 75mm cannon, has the tremendous luxury of a gyroscopic stabilizer that increases accuracy while moving. The engine can muscle through the worst nature can throw at it, and can run on common gasoline or even aviation fuel. Although thinner than its crews would prefer, the Sherman's hull is strong enough to withstand the majority of weapons employed by the enemies of the Republic, while being almost entirely a single casting makes it simple to mass produce. Its side and rear armor are naturally thinner to reduce the strain on the tank's engine. This characteristic does make the Sherman vulnerable to assault from these angles, requiring infantry support, other tanks or very careful operation to protect the vehicle. The Sherman can perform to its optimum capabilities when all of these elements are combined during an Federal armored advance. The Sherman is crewed by five crewmen; a commander, gunner, loader, radio operator and driver. While similar vehicles in other nations have four man crews, Sherman tanks enjoy an extra pair of eyes in combat and hands during maintenance tasks. These men are selected from mechanically-minded enlistees or men used to loud, cramped spaces such as the Republic's mines and factories. For four weeks the hills, fields and forests of Kentucky host the crews as instructors teach how to change tracks, remove engines using log A-frames and blast apart bunkers on the firing line. |-| Skins and Variations= |-| Strategy and Tips= The Sherman is an interesting 4e tank with a health of 250 and anti-armor damage similar to tanks of similar cost. Although the Sherman does have a small range, it is very mobile, allowing the Sherman to quickly reposition and contest resource points. Under circumstances in which the player could expect heavy amounts of firepower against one's forces, the Sherman can deploy the smoke canister to lengthen the survivability of one's troops. This has a number of applications, specifically vastly reducing the effectiveness of concussive type weapons that severely threaten most fragile UR ground units. Special Abilities 1. Weapon: Cannon: Fires a highly-explosive shell Type: Targeted Attack Damage: Medium Range: Medium 2. Ability: Launcher: Fires a smoke canister that provides cover Type: Aura boost Radius: Short Special: Boosts the armor of all units within the smoke by 40% except against Poison, Fire and Explosives Category:Units Category:Heavy Vehicle Category:United Republic